The miniaturization of electronic components found in such devices as integrated circuits finds extremely small conductive traces spaced on close centers to make such components vulnerable to voltage spikes or transients. These transients come in many forms, including a common form caused by an electrostatic buildup of charge on operators or equipment. For example, in dry climates, an operator may carry up to 15,000 volts in static charge, resulting in electrostatic discharge from the operator in touching, for example, a keyboard of a computer; or a connector or some part of equipment exposed to such touch. A resulting voltage spike may jump to conductive elements and find its way onto the circuits of a board to destroy or damage sensitive components contained thereon. One solution to the problem has been to provide filters between those components that can receive an electrostatic discharge and those components that are sensitive to electrical overstress. In such cases, electrostatic discharge spikes are filtered to ground or be absorbed by filters before causing damage. The use of filters is an added cost to components. Additionally, it is a cost that requires frequently a change in design of components to accommodate for the additional volume of the filters, volume in connectors or on expensive printed circuit boards being required in any event.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide electrostatic discharge protection for connectors, or portions of connectors accessible to operators or to equipments carrying static voltage charges. It is a further object to provide an electrostatic discharge protection for a connector without the use of filters. It is still a further object of the invention to provide electrostatic discharge protection to connectors having multiple rows of contacts, and it is a final object to provide an improved construction for protecting against electrostatic discharge, grounding and shielding electrical connectors and signal paths contained therein.